‘Alaska has the rare earths we need’
Frank Murkowski at The Wall Street Journal
China is “exploiting U.S. reliance on rare earth and critical minerals by ordering restrictions on exports,” says Frank Murkowski. Alaska has “untapped deposits of these minerals, including tantalum, which could serve as an alternative to Chinese pressure.” Federal “restrictions on access to these lands and permitting requirements are mandated by numerous federal agencies to the point that development hasn’t been allowed to occur.” No “longer should America have to be dependent on China, or any other nation.”
‘Social Security sends millions of Americans a misleading and “blatantly political” message’
Michael Hiltzik at the Los Angeles Times
One of the “hallmarks that set the Social Security Administration apart from other government programs was its sedulous avoidance of anything resembling partisan politics,” says Michael Hiltzik. But the “agency sent an email to millions of beneficiaries” with “inaccuracies about the budget bill and its effect on beneficiaries.” The “flawed, partisan message shows that the current administration doesn’t care enough about that trust to make sure that its communications with its beneficiaries and the public meet the highest standards.”
‘Why the future of AI may be open (and Chinese)’
Yik Wai Chee at Al Jazeera
The “release of DeepSeek’s R1 — China’s powerful new open-source AI model — has sent shockwaves through the global tech industry,” says Yik Wai Chee. It has “disrupted financial markets, challenged the United States’ dominance in artificial intelligence, and prompted fears that Silicon Valley’s tightly guarded business model may no longer hold.” Open-sourcing has “become China’s strategic workaround: Legal, scalable, and globally collaborative.” China’s “industrial strength lies in speed and scale,” and “investors are acutely aware.”
‘With the world in crisis, many say end globalization. I say that would be a mistake.’
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at The Guardian
This year “risks going down in history as the year when the international order built since 1945 collapsed,” says Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Many “countries have cut cooperation programs instead of redoubling efforts to implement the sustainable development goals by 2030.” This is “not about charity, but about addressing disparities rooted in centuries of exploitation.” Attacks on “international institutions ignore the concrete benefits the multilateral system has brought to people’s lives.”
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day